Paper and Parcel

Sunday, August 03, 2014

I am very excited to share the birth announcement I designed for my son, Cooper. Shortly after he was born we found out that he has Down syndrome. While most of our friends and family knew of our little guy's arrival and condition, as a stationer, I knew I had to send out birth announcements.

I knew I wanted the design to be as unique and special as my darling boy. The design features an envelope within an envelope. Recipients peel off the polka dotted washi tape to discover Cooper’s photo peeking out of the envelope. The back of the photo includes all his birthday stats. I am a sucker for letterpress and envelope liners. The card with the cross-hatch pattern is letterpress printed on 220# cotton paper. Both envelopes are lined with a fun triangle pattern.

My husband and I felt it necessary to include a note about our little man. We went through at least a dozen iterations before finally landing on: Cooper came into the world a month early. As our midwife put it, “He has things to do. People and places to see.” Shortly after he was born, Cooper let us in on his little secret: he has a genetic condition called Trisomy 21, otherwise known as Down syndrome. We were shocked and confused at first. But in our son’s emerging personality, we see a young man infinitely curious about the world. His blue eyes catch on shapes and patterns that make him giggle with delight. He is tenacious and precocious and will be crawling and walking before we know it. Cooper may have Down syndrome, but it’s clear there is much more to our little man than an extra chromosome. We are delighted that he has chosen us to be his parents. Please join us in welcoming Cooper to our family.

I have been learning calligraphy and thought this was the perfect opportunity to test out my skills. I love the white ink on the kraft paper. Yummy!

I've decided to offer Cooper's birth announcement for sale in my Etsy shop. If a special child has come into your life, I would love to design a beautiful announcement for them. Please contact me, and I would love to discuss it with you.